“Just now, when I remembered Felix Camden had a son named Jude, I looked online for pictures of him. There are hundreds of pictures of Jeremiah Camden because he went on to become a racecar driver. But there are hardly any of Jude Camden at all. He's a child with his family in one of the few pictures I could find of him. Is that strange that there aren't more photos available?”
“Not all that strange.” Gemma tried for a cavalier tone. “These days, I think a lot of celebrity parents fight for their children's privacy and don't allow photos of them to be made public.”
“But Jude Camden would be in his early thirties now. Not a child.”
“He probably wants to stay away from the media. With his parents' history, I can't blame him.”
“I took a photo of the picture of Jude Camden I found. I'm going to text it to you. Here.” Scuffling sounds.
Gemma held her phone away from her ear, bracing herself for the incoming text. When the picture arrived, she enlarged it. Jude's parents appeared to have been in their thirties when this family photo had been taken at an outdoor event. Both were physically stunning. Debonair Felix and sophisticated Fiona with the crystal smile and gleaming ash-blond hair. Felix wore a navy blazer and the boys had on blazers that matched his, plus madras shorts and leather loafers.
Both sons' tanned faces contrasted with their glittering pale eyes and towheaded blond hair. Jeremiah, age approximately ten, smiled directly at the camera with confidence. However, Jude looked reticent. His smile was there, but small and cautious as if asking the photographer,Can I trust you?
Gemma's heart gave a swift throb.
“Did the picture come through?” Mom asked.
“Yes.”
“Jude Camden looks like Jude McConnell.”
“I don't see it,” Gemma lied.
“Gemma! There's a strong resemblance.”
“Really?”
“That little face looks like it could have become your boyfriend's adult face.”
How was she going to put a stop to this? “Mom, I'm sure a lot of men looked similar to this when they were kids. Hundreds of thousands.”
“Yes, but how many of them are named Jude? Gemma. I think your JudeisJude Camden.”
“What?”she squawked. “No. My Jude grew up in Rhode Island. His dad's name is Henry and his mom's name is Harriet.”
“What if your Jude uses a different last name because he wants to find someone who loves him for him? And not for his family's fame and fortune?”
Mom was striking terrifyingly close to the truth. “Google Jude McConnell and you'll see pictures of my boyfriend.”
“Remember that movieComing to America? How the prince masqueraded as a commoner? Maybe Jude Camden is masquerading. And you're his princess.”
“No—”
“Imagine if you're dating Jude Camden, Gemma.I would die. I would be so starstruck. Felix Camden's son! Imagine.”
“Mom. Google Jude McConnell and you'll see pictures of my boyfriend.” She loathed lying to her mother. Loathed. But even worse would be bearing the blame for ruining Jude's alias, which had been so painstakingly created.
This situation called for Gemma's no-nonsense schoolteacher voice. She'd had to use it a lot on her younger brothers. “This is a fun fantasy but just that, a fantasy. You haven't told anyone else about this theory, have you?”
“No.”
“I need for you to promise that you'll keep it to yourself.”
“Why do you need me to promise that?Isyour boyfriend Jude Camden? Are you covering for him?” Excitement bubbled through her words.
“No! As Google will prove, if you'll take two minutes to find Jude there. I need you to promise to keep it to yourself because you know how our family is. This theory will spread faster than a pandemic and if it does, everyone will pummel me with questions.”
“Hmm.” She sounded pleased with herself.
